No Light Without Shadow
by Angel Kitten1029
Summary: Life isn't constant. Nothing is, except change. They say change is a good thing. It's time for a young Espeon to find out for herself when the world she thought she knew crumbles away before her eyes.
1. Future Sight

**A/N: This story was inspired by and dedicated to the Umbreon in my life. If the meaning of that is not clear now, it may be later. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, but no flames, please. They are useless and will be put out immediately by my Vaporeon. She's right here.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon.**

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><p>Darkness.<p>

_The seconds drag on._

Movement.

_Will this ever end?_

Bars.

_Make it stop…_

A flash of light.

_No more… No more… NO!_

Cold steel.

_Take a deep breath…_

Stifling silence.

_Three..._

_Two..._

_One..._

Pain.

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><p>The sun shines brightly directly overhead. I can feel its rays on my fur, power almost literally soaking into me and recharging my strength. I stand a little straighter now, glaring at my opponent with clear purple eyes. The Machop actually looks surprised, his expression reflected on his trainer's face. Behind me, Fylix only smiles slightly. He speaks the next command, his tone very measured–he's like that, not raising his voice too much.<p>

"Angel, Future Sight." I nod, eyes narrowing and shimmering bright purple, not that I can see that particular detail. Nothing happens.

If the other trainer is confused by this, she doesn't say anything, instead barking out a command to Machop. My opponent runs towards me, his fist drawn back and glowing white as he prepares to deliver what looks like a powerful Dynamic Punch. I duck out of its way and the clearing explodes with light as the Machop's fist slams into the grass.

"Machop, attack again!" I whirl around to see my opponent bearing down on me. My eyes widening slightly, I glance over at Fylix. He gazes at us calmly, saying not a word.

With a slight smile, I suddenly realize why.

A bright energy ball shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow slams into Machop seemingly out of nowhere and I jump back. As the Machop starts to collapse from the psychic energy, I stiffen, my mouth opening in wordless shock. I blink as images barrage my mind.

"Angel?" Even in my confused state, I can detect the undercurrent of urgency in Fylix's voice. As always, he immediately knows something's wrong.

Darkness. A flash of blue.

I pass out.

...

"How do you feel?" The voice cuts into my confused thoughts as I blink sleepily. What happened? I finally open my eyes to see a very worried-looking Chansey hovering over me. I just nod, stifling a yawn.

What can I say? Maybe the blinding pain behind my eyes can account for that unsatisfactory reply. I'm actually about to slip back into my dreams–they're dreams, right?–when Fylix of all people walks in. I haven't seen Nurse Joy, but she has to be around somewhere.

"I'm sorry, Angel. So sorry..." Like it was his fault that happened. Whatever _that_ is.

"It's okay," I manage to get out. I know by now humans can't understand me. It was worth a try, right?

He runs a hand through his black hair. "The battle was a tie. We were more concerned about you, however." I tilt my head to show I'm listening, sending stabs of pain shooting through it. I grit my teeth as he continues: "What happened? Future Sight finished off the battle when you collapsed, for seemingly no reason..." He has that pensive air about him, the one that I'm increasingly getting used to. It's one of the reasons we win so many battles.

Truth be told, I don't know what happened myself. One second I've just won against my opponent, the next I feel like I'm hurtling through time and space. It was an ordinary battle, nothing particularly odd that should have clued me in to this. Fylix and I were travelling, as usual, and I was out of my Poké Ball, naturally. We came across a young trainer with her Pokémon and Fylix challenged her to battle in that calm way of his. It's not that he's aggressive about battling; he just wants to become better at what he does. At what we do.

Here's the thing–he has other Pokémon, but he prefers training and battling with me. We have been with each other for quite a while now, to be sure, so I'm not about to complain.

Fylix crouches down next to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. I'm lying on my side, my head cushioned by some sort of pillow. Fylix smiles gently, his dark green eyes clear and partially obscured by strands of hair. I wave my forked tail ever so slightly in response, and of course he notices.

"Get some sleep, Angel. Rest is all you need."

I'm asleep before he's gone.

...

"Who are you?" The question is spoken so urgently I'm instantly awake. I can't even see the speaker, and for some reason I can't tell if it is male or female, human or Pokémon.

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. The place is two things I hate–dark and very, very open. The black empty space threatens to press in on me, to crush me out of existence. The cold, creeping fingers of a light, smoky mist do not help in the slightest. I slowly rise into a sitting position, my shoulders hunched and my tail wrapped tightly around my paws. Despite the seeming lack of a light source, I can see my body, my fur a pink-purple outline against the gloom.

"Identify yourself, Espeon. What's your name?" The voice is softer, as if the speaker was making an attempt to soothe my obvious unease. Even so, I could hear a strange combination of alarm and concern under the surface.

"Angel," I reply quietly. The cold caress of the mist is replaced by something else. Just a hint, the faintest feather-touch of _something behind me_. I suck in my breath sharply and turn my head at an almost painful angle, but I don't see anything except the yawning emptiness of this strange place. The presence I felt behind me is gone. It was so brief I barely registered it, but the sudden cold I feel is like a claw digging at my heart.

"What- What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" I finally force myself to speak again, moving only to look around me. I'm still alone, so alone.

"Do you expect me to answer both questions at once?" If I wasn't so confused, I would have picked up on the dry amusement in the voice even sooner than I do. The change in tone somehow emboldens me, and I shake my head crossly.

"All right, then. Sometimes, we don't know why we're somewhere until we're there. More often, the meaning is made clear only afterwards." I feel vaguely irritated by this, for some reason that eludes me as I try to grasp the thought. Impulsively, I decide the speaker is male, although nothing points my guess in that direction.

"Who are you, anyway?" I challenge the darkness, slowly standing up. I would still not rather walk anywhere, for fear of getting lost. Then again, what is there to get lost in?

"We are who we make ourselves. You of all Pokémon should know that," the mysterious voice replies, sounding reproachful. As if he can sense my annoyance, he quite helpfully adds, "We are who we want to be."

"And who do you want to be?" I immediately ask before he could pose a question.

The answer is so quiet I barely hear it: "A saviour." The word seems to echo and my vision blurs. Someone steps into my field of view, someone I can barely make out. All I see is bright streaks, flashes of a blue that shimmers between electric blue and ultramarine. What kind of Pokémon is this? I wonder as I give way to the white pressing in on my vision.

It will only be later, much later, that I realize I was not given a straight answer to any of my questions.


	2. Falling, Falling, Falling

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon. Not a bit of it.**

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><p><em>Let me go…<em>

_Please…_

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><p>My eyelids feel as if they've been sewn shut, but I force them open, blinking several times and squinting against the sudden brightness. The white lights overhead are all too familiar and I soon recognize the small-but-not-claustrophobic Pokémon Center room. Without sight of the sun or a clock of any sort, it's impossible to tell for how long exactly I've been asleep, but I feel strangely refreshed. Being able to think clearly, I finally get a chance to look around the room.<p>

I'm lying on a bed close to the walls, which are painted a calming light green. A table along one side of the room, near the door, is clean except for a few clipboards holding charts and other medical paraphernalia. In fact, everything is neat and orderly and pale.

Clean. _Medical_. I need to get out of here.

I get up on wobbly legs. A wave of dizziness and nausea hits me as I realize my stomach _hurts_. I sink down onto my haunches, disoriented. My throat is parched and my breathing harsh, ragged. I try to swallow, sitting still and waiting for someone because, clearly, I am in no condition to do anything on my own.

"Oh, you're up! Thank goodness… But you really should be lying down, still. Nurse Joy said you weren't to move until you got something to eat in you." The Chansey I saw the last time I was awake bustled in, signature nurse cap perched on her head. I try to talk but my voice is raspy and she shakes her head, holding something out to me before placing it on a small stand next to my bed. It's a mug containing some sort of soup.

"When you were awake last it was yesterday afternoon, when your trainer came in to talk to you. It was that morning that you passed out at the battle. You've been asleep now for more than a day; it's night-time now."

_More than a day…_ I carefully make my way over to the stand, bending my head to drink from the mug. The concoction pours down my throat and I instantly feel better. As I drink, the Chansey explains: "Nurse Joy couldn't figure out what the problem was based on what Fylix told her and what she observed. Physically, you're just fine. Could you tell me what happened, though?"

"Sure… One question, first… When can I leave?" I ask, a little apologetically, my voice better and most of my nausea gone.

"I'm not sure, but we shouldn't have to keep you here for very long. I just want to make sure you're okay before we let you go."

With that reply, I nod, explaining the events of yesterday morning to the best of my ability. The Machop fainting… The flashes of light and colour right before I passed out... How I felt when I woke up the first time… I try not to leave out any details, but even as I talk I feel something slipping my mind. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I'm missing. Something is tugging at my mind, but when I try to pin it down the thought eludes me like an evasive Butterfree.

I finish my soup while the Chansey writes notes on a clipboard before leaving the room. I lie down, resting my head on my paws, bored out of my mind. At some point Nurse Joy and the Chansey come back in. They run over some basics, like taking my temperature and checking me over, before guiding me out to where Fylix is sitting tensely in a chair in the reception area of the Pokémon Center.

He looks overjoyed to see me, jumping up as soon as we come into view. On my part, relief courses through me as he crouches down to gently ruffle the fur between my ears.

Everything's okay now.

I'm well enough to travel, terrific actually, but Fylix decides to book a room for the rest of the night. Maybe it was a good idea after all, I realize when I lay eyes on the comfy bed waiting for us. I yawn sleepily, stretching out my body completely. I've already slept for over twenty-four hours, and probably a good three to four hours right before that, but I still can't stop my eyes from closing as I curl up on the blankets, lying comfortably on Fylix's legs.

"G'night, Angel," he says quietly, turning onto his side. I shift accommodatingly.

"Goodnight."

...

A low, constant roar makes me open my eyes and I climb to my feet warily, ears cocked towards the source of the noise. I'm in a small clearing fringed by trees, leaves rustling with a silent breeze. The grass is soft underpaw and I tread lightly towards the sound that blankets almost everything else. It grows louder until I see a pounding waterfall, white froth cascading off the edge and falling, falling, falling.

The ground plunges down just a few feet away. I cautiously look over the edge. Far, far below, I can just make out a narrow river winding its way through the gorge. I look up. The other side of the gorge is a good distance away – I don't think even a Rapidash could clear the jump – and it looks much the same as this side: rock and grass and trees.

"Hello?" I yell out. _Hello? Hello?_ my voice echoes back to me, bouncing off the canyon walls.

"Hi."

I startle, almost falling over the edge but scrabbling back in time, fur rising in alarm. _That voice._ I've heard it before… In a place very different from this. I want to turn around, to face the Pokémon – for this time I'm certain it's a Pokémon – that's been torturing me so, but my limbs are frozen in place.

The ground suddenly lurches under my feet. Caught off guard, I struggle to keep my footing on the hard rock as everything cartwheels around me. Then I am thrown off my feet and over the edge of the canyon, falling, falling, falling.

...

The wind is squeezed out of my lungs as I land on the carpet. I lie still for a second, catching my breath before looking up at the bed where Fylix sleeps, thrashing in the grip of a nightmare. The blankets were tangled in his legs, on which I was lying not too long ago. I probably fell over when he started moving, explaining the end of my strange dream.

I can't dwell on that now. "Fylix! Fylix, wake up!" I jump up next to his pillow, pressing my cheek against his. "Fylix!" My loud cry startles my friend and partner awake and he sits up, wild eyes darting all over the room. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead by sweat. He leans forward, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands and resting his elbows on his bent knees. Wordlessly I press against his side, offering him what comfort I can. He hesitates, frozen in his thoughts, before his hand comes up and rests on my back.

"I… I had a dream. That's all. I'm sorry I woke you." There's a pause during which I sigh, stretching and lying down with my paws tucked under my chest. He rubs my back soothingly. "We should get some sleep."

Yet neither of us move, sitting motionless against each other while the sun creeps over the horizon in the east, filling the room with golden light.

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><p><strong>AN: I realize that it's been, well, a long long time since I posted that first chapter (understatement...). I'd like to say I've been busy and leave it at that, but truth be told it's only part of the truth and a lame excuse to boot. I've mostly been just plain lazy, frequently uttering "the muse has deserted me!" Buuut I was somewhat inspired by a simple little action yesterday and also spurred on by a very good friend of mine to continue this. I'll try very hard to update this more frequently from now on... Reviews would be much appreciated, please and thank ya!**


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